Profile
Dr Linda Long
Research Fellow in HTA
6091
+44 (0) 1392 726091
South Cloisters 309
South Cloisters, University of Exeter, St Luke's Campus, Heavitree Road, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK
Overview
Linda trained as a research bioscientist, and has laboratory research experience in the fields of atherosclerosis and parasitology, specializing in Leishmaniasis (African Sleeping Sickness) for her doctorate. She is also an exhibited artist and musician, with a strong interest in trans-disciplinary research, particularly with respect to the arts and medicine.
Linda has been working at UEMS in health service research and health technology assessment (HTA) for the past six years. Previously, in 1999, Linda was appointed Research Fellow in Complementary Medicine at UEMS.
She has experience in digital product development and has worked closely with visual designers, artists, programmers and composers to develop innovative educational digital products, including museum touchscreen exhibits.
In 2001, she was awarded an Invention and Innovation award from Nesta (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) to lead a team creating and developing an innovative genre of music based on protein x-ray crystallography data (“Molecular Music”). Outputs included the radio and TV features, and the installation of a trans-disciplinary interactive educational exhibit (“Listen to Your Body”), which ran successfully for 10 years in Explore, at-bristol’s Science Centre. More recently, she has worked with artists to install a molecular music soundscape at The Eden Project.
Broad research specialisms
- Systematic review
- Systematic review for health technology assessment
Qualifications
- BSc (hons) in Biological and Biochemical Sciences
- PhD Medical Research
Links
Research
Research interests
Linda's main methodological research expertise are in systematic review, critiquing and synthesising findings from clinical trials, including clinical trials of complex interventions and trials to inform reimbursement and health policy. Expertise include comparative effectiveness and cost effectiveness methods for pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices, the evaluation of cardiovascular rehabilitation interventions, the synthesis of qualitative research to gain deeper understanding of factors affecting behaviour change outcomes and the facilitation of patient and public involvement (PPI) in systematic reviews and HTA reports.
In addition, Dr Long has experience in conducting primary qualitative research (focus groups, workshop facilitation, one-to-one interviews and ethnographic methods).
Research projects
Recent cardiac rehabilitation projects:
Exercise-based rehabilitation for adults with heart failure.
Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation for adults with stable angina.
Recent HTA projects:
Benralizumab for treating severe asthma.
Low-dose computed tomography for lung cancer screening in high risk populations.
Research grants
- 2018 Cochrane
Linda Long (Principle Investigator) and Rod Taylor. NIHR Cochrane incentive scheme for Cochrane systematic review entitled “Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation for patients with stable angina” - 2017 Danish Heart Foundation
Funding a report for the Danish Heart Foundation on Rehabilitation and Palliative Care in the Management of Cardiovascular Diseases: The Evidence and the Gaps. ISBN (online): 978-87-93356-27-6 - 2015 MRC
HTA training programme for colleagues undertaking HTA in Brazil
External Engagement and Impact
Awards
£50,000 Nesta Invention and Innovation Award (2001)
Editorial responsibilities
Associate editor of FACT (Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies) journal (1999-2001)
Invited lectures
Invited speaker at the Language of Water: an International Science-Art conference and Art Exhibition Conference, Bath Spa, Bath (2001)
Media Coverage
I have given radio interviews for Science in Action and World Update (BBC World Service), You and Yours (BBC radio 4), Music Matters (BBC radio 3), as well as television interviews (The Big Breakfast, Channel 4). I have been interviewed by Clive Cookson (Science Editor of the Financial Times) and given interviews to various national publications including New Scientist.
Teaching
Linda leads and delivers plenaries and workshops on breastfeeding to undergraduate students at the University of Exeter Medical School. She contributes to teaching the systematic reviews module on the MSc in Applied Health Services Research and to the Clinical Decision Making (Making Sense of Evidence) module.
Linda has successfully supervised graduate and postgraduate research projects at UEMS and has contributed to learning support at UEMS as a Problem Based Learning tutor.